Maybe the karma of playing hard down the stretch will win us the lottery and pick 4.
JR keeps talking like they see 10 top tier players in the draft, 5 forwards and 5 dmen. Do we know who those ten are? Or was he just picking 10 because he knew we would pick in the top 10.
That d list is about right. Up front it's hard to say who the 5th guy is, which makes me think there's only 4 truly top tier forwards in this draft (Nail, Grigorenko, Galchenyuk, Forsberg). After that is the start of a new tier that is guys like Gaunce, Faksa, Teravainen, and possibly Collberg.
I think he was saying 10 because he knew we were going to be picking top 10. But I don't think there's another forward on the same tier as the first 4 I mentioned in this draft. That's not to say that guys like Faksa or Teravainen couldn't turn out better then some of them, they're just not as sure bets to be contributors at a high level of play.
If Forsberg does end up slipping to 8th as I've seen in many projections, we're golden.
It'd be incredible if Forsberg ends up dropping to us, but honestly I've liked what I've seen out of Teravainen lately. I saw in one of the NHL.com mock drafts that they had him going to us at 7th (at the time), and predicted us to reach for him because he's exactly what we need. One scout even predicted that he'd be the best player to come out of this draft.
I'd still be more comfortable drafting Forsberg at 8 if he's available, but Teravainen's a boom-or-bust kind of guy that could be an unbelievable, All-Star caliber player. I'd take the chance if I'm JR.
Im interested to learn more about this Teravainen guy. I've been following this draft and the players since about November and it seems like he has just popped up out of no where.
lots of intrigue and suspense till the moment it happens, sucks we are in a position where we just sit and see who drops with no idea who will be there - but at least its top 10 pick. i think faksa will be gone before we pick, hes being sold as a solid and safe pick. wouldnt surprise me at all if we are left to sift through 3 or 4 dmen in our range, with all the forwards going. other than dumba and murray i dont know that any of the others could go before 5. i think nail, grigs, trumba or murray go in the top 3. i think faksa goes before galchenyuk, who i think is the guy who drops a little bit and we may have to make a decision on him. i dont think the ducks/ leafs/wild will let forsberg get to us. i think faksa is the leafs pick, to be honest. burke needs a safe pick, and a center with size.
reinhart, trouba, and galchenyuk are my guesses for who is available to us. i like reinhart, dont know trouba very well, scared a little of galchenyuk at this point.
nail
dumba
grigs
murray
faksa
forsberg
reilly
thats my rough guess.
ps apparently im an idiot and combined trouba with dumba there. my bad.
Last edited by bleedgreen: 04-08-2012 at 08:21 PM.
From the limited viewing I had of Trouba at the World Juniors, he looked VERY good. Had no difficulty pushing his man off the puck and was solid positionally. Had some nasty to his game also which I liked seeing. I thought he was the best defenseman for Team USA and one of the best ones in the tournament. We need a forward this draft, but I would not have a problem if we drafted Trouba.
I admit I haven't seen a whole lot of Trouba, but he sounds a bit like Jack Johnson, but maybe a bit less offense minded (and even goes to Michigan).
Scouting report per TSN:
Strengths: A mobile defenceman with length, strength and range. Plays a physical game and not afraid to take a run at an opponent. Has some offensive skills, is a good passer with vision and a hard point shot.
Weaknesses: there are some questions about his overall hockey sense, needs to learn to rein in the physical play at times and play with composure.
Is Johnson a fair comparison?
Last edited by Boom Boom Anton: 04-08-2012 at 08:50 PM.
Im interested to learn more about this Teravainen guy. I've been following this draft and the players since about November and it seems like he has just popped up out of no where.
He got a spot in Jokerit (one of the biggest clubs in whole Europe) and played so well that right now he's in semifinals playing as a first line center for the team. Also he is in first PP squad. Playing very well for a kid at that age. His skating is really effortless and he seem to make the right move all the time.
And just to be clear im talking about mens league not junior.
I admit I haven't seen a whole lot of Trouba, but he sounds a bit like Jack Johnson, but maybe a bit less offense minded (and even goes to Michigan).
Scouting report per TSN:
Strengths: A mobile defenceman with length, strength and range. Plays a physical game and not afraid to take a run at an opponent. Has some offensive skills, is a good passer with vision and a hard point shot.
Weaknesses: there are some questions about his overall hockey sense, needs to learn to rein in the physical play at times and play with composure.
Is Johnson a fair comparison?
Not sure I'd really call him like Jack. He's not nearly as much of a free wheeler as Jack was when both were at similar stages in their development. Bogosian I might be able to buy as a comparison, though I don't think Trouba's upside is quite that high.
There are few skaters that have come out with Jack Johnson's mobility, at forward or defense, in the past ten years. The thing that really set him apart from his peers was that ability and his aggressiveness in addition to all those puck skills.
In most any other draft year, Jack Johnson is the first overall pick. I still think most teams in the two spot would have picked Johnson ahead of Ryan.
So in short, I don't think we're looking at a player with Johnson's talent level. But as we've seen with Johnson's actual career, the physical talent is only half the battle.
Thank God we're in the East. Edmonton adding Nail to an already solid group of young players? When that group gets their **** together, it's going to be another Pittsburgh.
Thank God we're in the East. Edmonton adding Nail to an already solid group of young players? When that group gets their **** together, it's going to be another Pittsburgh.
I have a strange feeling they'll never do anything with this group. Their d and goaltending is such a joke, I don't think they'll get it together before all those ELC's are up and guys start cashing in. They won't have time to develop solid d and a goalie and they can't attract big name free agents.
